Salsa Del Este

October 27, 2007

I arrived at the Chilford Hall around 11:40 after getting lost a bit in Linton. A printed map would have saved me a little trouble all day. Even then I only missed the first set of classes. Not surprisingly the schedule changed once again. In the first hour, I could have taken Intro to On2 (Oh So Salsa), Improver/Intermediate Cross Body On1 (Emma substituting for Moe), Beginner/Improver Cross Body On1 (Mauricio) or Basics (Pure Salsa – Charlotte)

The second hour choices were Basic Moves (Pure Salsa – Charlotte), Cross Body On1 Intermediate/Advanced (Oh So Salsa), Cuban Improver/Intermediate (Moe Flex), Cha Cha all Levels (Mauricio Reyes). I opted for Cuban with Moe.

Cuban basic (L in place, R to 2 o’clock, L together, R cross over L, L back, R together – for lead… mirror image for follower)
Dile Que No
Simple turn (prep on 7) for follower on 1,2,3 (clockwise)
Sombrero after Dile Que No
Enchufe
“Arm twisty move”
- 1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L drape follower’s head on R side with L-R straightened to keep her from turning prematurely, then lead her to stationary clockwise turn
- 1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R straight initially then arm lock over from outside, lower neck/head and slide L-R over head and down the back of lead to L waist (this bit is pretty neat, but what comes afterwards is anticlimactic)
- 1,2,3,5,6,7 … involved getting behind follower with counterclockwise turn with R-L going over follower’s head – follower’s arms are crossed in front of her stomach…
- 1,2,3,5,6,7 followed by something kitschy and clockwise turn for follower

During lunch, Mauricio gave truncated version of Musical Timing. I wasn’t paying deep attention but presumably the best part was the video of different musical instruments being played in typical Salsa timing.

The first afternoon classes were Body Movement for Beginner/Improvers (Pure Salsa – who?), Cross Body on 1 Intermediate/Advanced (Emma and Mushi), Cross Body On1 Improver/Intermediate (Oh So Salsa), and Rueda (Moe). I opted for Emma & Mushi for the same reason I used throughout the day – they were from furthest away and thus least accessible.

1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader doing hook turn and switching to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break into crucifix – weight on R on 5 weight on L on 6 and sending follower forward
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns under L-L clockwise switching to R-L low (in class the inition clockwise turn was half until 3 and with hook turn on 5 for another half whereas I found myself doing full turn by 3 and doing a hook step on 5) – lead follower to free travelling 1 1/2 counterclockwise travelling turn to leader’s R side with leader turning another 1/2 clockwise to face the follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 collect follower on her way back on 2,3 to leader her into 1 1/2 standing travelling counterclockwise turn with L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break into CBL with L-R toss switch to L-L and lead follower to 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn with leader stepping to R on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader continue to turn 1/2 counterclockwise with L-L extended to far left on 2 and barely clear follower to head on 3 to lead her into a full counterclockwise turn – stop her on 5 like a preparation and turn her into clockwise turn (double if possible)

The next hour offered Turn Pattern for Beginner/Improver (Pure Salsa), Men’s Styling (Mushi), Lady’s styling (Emma). I had taken Mushi’s class at Brit Fest almost 2 years ago so I knew that wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. I was sitting on the stage next to the biggest floor and chatting with Emma and Lindsey when the classes were divided. It turned out that Emma’s class started with about half hour of talking, so I felt rather comfortable staying where I was and listen for lecture part before departing shortly after the actual exercise started. The first thing Emma said was that no men picks someone as a dance partner because she styles well. This is ABSOLUTELY true. We don’t mind styling and might admire it a bit if it doesn’t interfere with our leads and if it looks good. Otherwise we are mostly annoyed with it – at least during the partner work segment. Also what appears to be styling is most often sound and clean basic.

The options for the last hour was Intro to Bachata (Pure Salsa), Cross Body On1 Intermediate/Advanced (Moe), Cross Body On1 Improver/Intermediate (Pure Salsa), Bachata (Mauricio). After a short internal debate between Mauricio and Moe, I opted for Moe once again.

1,2,3,5,6,7 Basic open
1,2,3,5,6,7 Basic into tight closed and fool around
1,2,3,5,6,7 continue to fool around but into CBL ending in open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to full clockwise turn with leader turn half counterclockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring hands down leader’s side one by one (L first with body/hip movement to that side on 1 and 3 and R next with movement to the same side on 5 and 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 switch to L-L/R-R or something like it – lead follower to CBL move (I was using forward on 5 with R-R underarm but I don’t think that was how Moe was doing it) finish with L-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL (open break start?) and lead follower into wrap (L-L across follower’s stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 after allowing follower forward on 1, turn her around on 2,3 with leader turning 1/2 clockwise and positioned to L of follower side to side and lead follower to free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 360 CBL ending with L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a double turn with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise and switching to R-R (like slam dunk)
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring follower forward with R-R going over and L-L connection made in front and lead follower to travelling counterclockwise turn into wrap (L-L across follower’s stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 switch both connections and lead follower to 1 1/2 stationary turn ending with R-L behind follower’s back
1,2,3,5,6,7 hand flick move followed by … turn for follower? I forget… Hand flicks trip me up.

I went to work to set things up for about half hour before picking up people back in Cambridge for dinner. After picking up Cyrille and Zhenzhi, we waited for Sebastian in his own car to catch up. It looked like Zern might beat us to the restaurant, but it did not happen. Even if he had, he would have been delayed by having to change, etc in his car after his Water Polo tournament. The restaurant by the way was The Three Tuns in Great Abington. Food was decent. Cyrille apparently liked their wine, but I did not have any.

We did not arrive until 9:30. First person I spotted was Sam, who was outside – not smoking but on the phone (incidentally the frequency of dances with her is seemingly becoming rarer than planetary collisions). Inside Moe was still leading the Rueda. Liam, who caught a ride with Rajiv instead and called Cyrille while we were still eating, found our group as Cyrille, Zern and Zhenzhi were going through the registration process.

I’ll start with the song selections by Mauricio – they were not as nice to my ears as his selections from the UK Congress. A few gems here and there, but too many lowbrow stuff made the better selections seem worse than they were.

Solo Se Que Tiene Nombre De Mujer (Angel Canales) – This was one of my two favorite songs I heard at the UK Congress. I’m not sure if I heard it for the first time then but it certainly was the first time I realized what the song was based on the familiarity of lead vocals and lyrics. My other favorite from the UK Congress as I mentioned on the drive back was Ublabadu by Fania All Stars with Hector Lavoe on vocals. I scanned the crowd for a prospective partner (preferably someone from outside Cambridge) before settling on Steph for the first high-energy dance of the evening for me.

Clasiquiendo Con Ruben (Afro Cuban All Stars) – I’m fairly sure this song has been played in Cambridge - most likely by Sally. It’s good, but not played every week (this by the way is a very good thing in my opinion - never overplay anything - even the best songs), like Noche De Salsa (Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz). I got a good outside partner for this one.

Besitos De Coco (Azabache) – I am 95% sure this song was played tonight. It’s fine, and I hadn’t heard it played before elsewhere.

Not sure… maybe Esta Cobardia (Frankie Ruiz) – It’s okay.

Que Bueno Baila Usted (Oscar D’Leon) – I think this was the fourth song of the evening. It’s fine, but it has been overplayed for at least 2-3 years (somewhat less so recently). I think I skipped it as I usually do these days.

Mentirosa (Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz) – No complaints.

La Lucha (La Excelencia – version feat. Shanny) – I have played this a few times It’s okay to dance to but nothing special.

La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba (Susie Hansen) – I know this one has a good number of fans in Cambridge. At least 3 different Cambridge DJs can be expected to play it often. I heard it Friday night too.

Hong Kong Mambo (extended version of Tito Puente) – I prefer the original version.

Show Me (Alex Wilson) – I’ve heard it twice, and I was tired of it after one hearing.

Mario (Africando) – This song is somewhat bland and lasts forever – 8 minutes and 38 seconds and felt twice as long. I think it was the second song of the evening – bad start. I did not dance to it and I am glad I skipped it. I did not realize how long the song was because it was the first time I heard it - I had heard of this song on the net with some people saying good things about it, but it obviously did not work for me.

Some Vish classics with fusing of songs, etc – I think this went on for about 3 songs. The latter two songs were real Vish classics of the blandest kind. I would have hated it. I was dancing with a beginner too. It would have been a disaster except she was pleasant and seemed to be having a good time, which made a world of difference.

Valio La Pena (Marc Anthony) – It’s decent for Marc Anthony. Like Salsa Nunca Se Acaba, I can expect to hear it from many different DJs in Cambridge.

Sun Sun Babae (version? possibly Tito Rodriguez except the Tito Rodriguez (Sr) I have is quite fast) - It was one of good versions in any case.

Emma & Mushi performance (actually Salsology Co) seemed more or less identical to the one from the Scala earlier this year – same costume too. It was alright as far as performances go. This was followed by Moe leading a line dance to the entire room for three songs. I decided to sit out after about a song and a quarter – I recall checking the time and seeing that it was midnight. Somewhere around there, Sally received a bouquet of flowers.

Aside from a few dances, I did not particularly enjoy myself until after midnight. There must have been around 12-20 decent followers from outside the Cambridge scene, and most of dances with them happened after midnight because I only knew a handful by their face. I did not get a chance to dance with all of them either (including Moe’s partner for his instructions and the pair from the Salsology Co.), but I’m guessing I still managed better than most others. Because the instances of Cambridge folks dancing with followers from the outside scene was rather rare, it was a bit tricky to spot decent outside followers until the crowd thinned out a little. I would guess that other than me Mark (a.k.a. Marx) was better than most others at overcoming shyness or whatever, and Ivan, Cyrille and Liam all ventured out a bit or knew the outsiders, but primarily I was looking at whom the good leads (including in some cases the DJ Mauricio) from elsewhere were dancing with. For me, they were like lifesavers – people who travel long distances for Salsa are there to dance with new people, etc rather than – something else (I don’t know what). Aside from Steph and Zhenzhi, all of my dances tonight were singletons, and I did not come close to dancing with everyone from the Cambridge scene. Then again, I had a distinct feeling that not everyone in Cambridge were looking to dance with other Cambridge folks – at least not all the time and not with everyone. That's not what this type of event is for anyway, right?

Return trip had Liam, Cyrille and Zhenzhi in my car. Both Zern and Sebastian left early I think - both were pretty tired by the start of the party. Liam talked about Cocinando (and Cocinando Suave) once again. We had this talk before although I don't recall him saying that he would like to dress like a pimp when dancing to Cocinando. Oh and I finally returned the speakers we used at YMCA to Liam tonight.

Postscript added Sunday evening. Vish just asked me to DJ this Friday all night. It could get really interesting with that crowd.